Most people dread having to get up and give a presentation. But is that really enough of a reason to make your audience dread sitting through it?
An effective, engaging presentation is a powerful way to get a point across or garner enthusiasm for a project. Many of the best presentations share several common techniques. So even if you don’t have the most charismatic personality, you can still land a memorable presentation by following these tried and true tactics:
Keep it simple. Most audiences have short, selective attention spans (think 4 year old here) when it comes to presentations, so avoid making anything too complex — or too long.
Hint: An effective presentation can be summed up in 10 words or less. If you can’t do that, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
Passion and enthusiasm work. If the presenter shows genuine enthusiasm and passion, more often than not it’ll carry over to the audience.
Hint: Try to avoid being too serious and avoid using these:
- filler words (uh, um, ah, etc.)
- buzzwords (optimized, synergy), and
- weak words (maybe, sorta, kinda).
Captivating storytelling. Use these techniques to create a smooth, flowing storyline that people will remember long after your presentation is through:
- Rule of three: People remember things in groups of three, so try to incorporate triplets as often as possible.
- Personal touch: Any time you can include a personal anecdote it creates an emotional connection with the crowd.
- Visual cues work: But the key is keeping it original — avoid bullets, number lists — and not overdoing it.